Out with the new. In with the old. It’s not the traditional way to start a Scottish party but Gordon Strachan went against popular opinion to rip up the rulebook last night and in doing so he gave the country cause to celebrate one of our most dramatic and monumental wins of recent years.

This was meant to be the night when Scotland’s manager ushered in the future but in typically stubborn style he turned instead to all his oldest stalwarts.

And when Ikechi Anya – on from the bench as a last throw of the dice – crossed to fellow sub Chris Martin who pressured Martin Skrtel into putting through his own net for the only goal of the night with little more than a minute of regulation time left, Strachan was pulling off one of his most miraculous moments yet.

Suddenly a campaign that seemed to have been strangled in its infancy when Scotland lost 3-0 in Slovakia is now just 90 minutes away from the promised land of the play-offs.

What an education for John McGinn and Callum McGregor who watched open-mouthed from the bench as the manager pulled this one out of the fire in the nick of time.

(Image: PA)

Callum McGregor was left kicking his heels in the dugout watching the drama unfold (Image: SNS Group)

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They joined in the madness as Hampden erupted. They will have bigger roles to play for Scotland in the years ahead. Perhaps even as soon as this Sunday when one final win in Slovenia will be required. But they may never experience such a moment of drama and sheer Scottish joy.

Strachan was never going to please everyone with this selection. But, as the slopes of the old place began to fill up ahead of kick-off, it did feel for all the world he had managed to satisfy no one. With the notable exceptions of the Bannan family and the Fletchers.

By handing starts to Barry and Darren, Strachan was reverting to the tried and tested. By leaving both McGinn and McGregor on the bench this was a glimpse back to darker times rather than a nod to the future.

After all, the last time this pair lined up together in a Scotland midfield was the 3-0 defeat away to the Slovaks – a result that helped us get into such a mess in Group F in the first place.

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But in many ways this was a bold move rather than a people pleaser. Strachan was banking on Fletcher’s big game know-how and Bannan’s red-hot early-season form. James Morrison was the third body in that central area but the West Brom man’s selection always looked like a far more straightforward affair. It was up to this trio to stamp their mark on the midfield from the onset.

And it started just as the manager intended. In fact, this was the stuff of Strachan’s dreams. Or it would have been had it included a Scotland goal.

Everything else was going perfectly to plan. Scotland were composed in possession, first into tackles and operating at a tempo that appeared to rattle the Slovakians into panic. Indeed, they were extremely lucky not to give away a penalty just eight minutes in when Robert Mak bundled awkwardly into Kieran Tierney and sent the full-back sprawling inside the box.

Slovakia's Robert Mak is given his marching orders for a dive in the box (Image: Daily Record)

That such a strong appeal was waved away dismissively by the Serbian referee was a bewilderment in itself.

But Mak’s night was only just beginning. And it wouldn’t last long.

He was booked in 16 minutes for chopping into James Forrest, who had started the match in immaculate fashion on Scotland’s right. Mak stopped him the old-school way and was rightly carded. He was not the only Slovak who was losing the place. Two more – Juraj Kucka and talisman Marek Hamsik – were cautioned while standing over their own free-kick.

And two minutes later Mak was gone after a blatant, contemptible attempt to win a penalty by diving at the feet of Craig Gordon as the keeper came rushing out to deal with a through ball.

That Gordon pulled out of the challenge merely made the decision even more obvious for ref Milorad Mazic who whipped out another yellow and followed it with red.

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Yes, this first half was all going perfectly for Strachan’s pink-shirted Scots. If only they had managed to muster a breakthrough. Christophe Berra came closest with a thumping header that forced Martin Dubravka into a miraculous one-handed save at his right post. The keeper also did well to keep out a Leigh Griffiths curler 10 minutes before the turnaround.

And the half ended with Scotland’s players swarming all over his box in search of that opening goal. It was only a matter of time. Right?

It should have arrived five minutes after the restart when Tierney picked out Griffiths with a hanging cross to the back post but the striker could only head it tamely into Dubravka’s gloves when he ought to have been nodding it back across goal for either Morrison or Bannan to apply a finishing touch.

Had Griffiths picked the right option Scotland would have hit the front at the perfect moment.

Instead they were dragged into an increasingly tense, nervous stand-off. There was a sudden reminder of just how precarious their position was in 57 minutes when Fletcher got suckered in towards the ball and Hamsik drifted into the acre of space behind him.

The Napoli man tore towards goal with the ball at his feet and when he picked out little livewire Stanislav Lobotka with a perfect pass the Tartan Army adopted the brace position.

It was an unexpected relief that Lobotka’s shot was comfortably held by Gordon. Two minutes later the Scotland keeper really did pull out the stops with a magnificent reaction save to batter out a drive from Jan Gregus at the end of a rapid Slovakian counter.

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This was in serious danger of getting away from Scotland now. Strachan’s response was both instant and entirely unexpected. Off came Forrest with Martin coming on. While the entire stadium was still attempting to fathom Strachan’s strategy, Tierney was picking out Griffiths once more and the striker’s viciously swerving shot was beaten away by Dubravka.

In that moment the momentum swung again. Scotland – now in a 4-4-2 with Bannan on the left and Matt Phillips switched to the right – were coming at the Slovaks from all angles.

Chris Martin rattling the crossbar made it look as though it just wasn't going to be our night (Image: Getty Images Europe)

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Martin hit the bar with a ferocious effort from distance then Griffiths smacked the same piece of woodwork with a free-kick plucked from his England collection of greatest hits.

How this one came back out, given that it kissed the underside of the bar, was a mystery of physics. But as Hampden winced in disbelief Martin was rolling a backheel into the path of Morrison and his shot was blocked by Dubravka at close range. It really was all or nothing now.

Then another familiar, final throw of the dice. This time Anya was told to strip off while McGregor and McGinn looked on.

And just when it seemed all hope was gone Anya drove forward on to a superb Griffiths through ball and sent a low cross into the danger area where Skrtel, with Martin breathing down his neck, sent his attempted clearance spinning into the net.

Scotland are not supposed to do happy endings. But this may be the campaign that changes everything.